Donald Trump hosted a star-studded Mar-a-Lago bash where he issued a stark warning to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while announcing a novel plan to start his presidency two months early.
The president-elect gave a speech at the America First Policy Conference Thursday night as guests including Sylvester Stallone attended the gala at his Palm Beach, Florida club.
Trump addressed the stars of the conservative movement and singled out his selection to lead Health and Human Services.
‘Today I nominated him for, I guess, if you like health and you like people that live a long time, it’s the most important position,’ Trump said about RFK Jr.
He then issued five words of caution to the former Democrat.
‘Don’t get too popular, Bobby,’ he said.
Trump added: ‘You know, you’ve reached about the level. We want you to come up with things and ideas and what you’ve been talking about for a long time, and I think you’re going to do some unbelievable things. Nobody’s going to be able to do it like you, and boy does he feel it in his heart.’
Trump then recounted his election win and emphasized how he won the popular vote – for the first time.
‘So we swept all swing states, we won the popular vote. Oh I love that,’ Trump said.
‘You know in my first term, they said, “He won the election – he didn’t win the popular vote” – that’s what they say who even knows if it’s true or not.
‘But we won the popular vote by records: no one can say that any more about us.’
He went on to celebrate Republicans recapturing the Senate and the House and spoke directly to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
‘Things are happening to our country that we didn’t see happening for years,’ he said, claiming the developments were due to his election win. ‘Almost every single day we set new records in the stock market.’
The president-elect then made a proposal to start his term early.
‘Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important maybe you should pass a bill. You have to start my term from November 5… because the market’s gone through the roof, enthusiasm has doubled,’ Trump declared.
He did however note, addressing Johnson, about his new House majority shrinking because of how many members of Congress Trump was nominating to key positions.
‘I just like the people in Congress, Mike, I’m sorry!’
The president-elect also broke some news, announcing that South Dakota Governor Doug Burgum would run the Department of the Interior.
‘He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and it’s going to be fantastic,’ Trump said of the wealthy former software company executive.
Burgum, 68, has portrayed himself as a traditional, business-minded conservative. He ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination before quitting and becoming a loyal Trump supporter, appearing at fundraisers and advocating for Trump on television.
RFK Jr and his wife Cheryl Hines have seemingly patched things up after rumors of a ‘digital affair’ with journalist Olivia Nuzzi.
Kennedy exchanged pleasantries with Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz and his wife Ginger, who is standing by her man as he faces resurfaced allegations of 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual misconduct.
Trump feted many of the people in attendance at the conference, including Kennedy.
He also joked again about his new bromance with Elon Musk.
‘I believe in high IQs and his is as high as it can get. What a job he does. He likes this place, I can’t get him out of here! He likes this place,’ Trump said.
At the end of the event, Musk mounted the stage.
‘The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear. The people have spoken, the people want change,’ he said.
Trump also celebrated his total victory, which gives him unchecked power as the Republicans control both houses of Congress.
‘I didn’t win it, the people won it,’ he said. ‘The great people of our country won the popular vote.’
Trump also thanked blockbuster movie star Stallone, who was in attendance and introduced the president.
He also thanked and congratulated Argentine President Javier Millei, who called ‘a MAGA guy.’
Millei is the first foreign leader to meet with the president-elect since his victory in last week’s election.
After meeting with Trump, Milei, a self-described ‘anarcho-capitalist’ and frequent recipient of Trump’s praise, addressed the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago.
He slammed left-wing ideologies and saluted Elon Musk, the owner of X, saying his social media site is helping to ‘save humanity’.
Also at the party were Kellyanne Conway, Tucker Carlson, Sean Spicer, Donald Trump Jr. and former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom.
One of the more star-studded tables included Carlson, Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Kennedy, Hines and Department of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard.
The president-elect praised the ex-Democrat Congresswoman as being part of their effort to bring ‘common sense’ to the campaign.
Trump praised his latest cabinet picks and made some of his longest remarks since his presidential election victory speech.
‘Nobody knew we were going to win it the way we won it,’ Trump said.
The party raged after Trump shocked Washington Thursday by nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The latest appointment to a rapidly growing cabinet and West Wing packed with loyalists new and old immediately sent shockwaves through the public health sector given Kennedy’s reputation as an anti-vaxxer who has pushed conspiracy theories about a number of health-related topics.
The 70-year-old husband of actress Cheryl Hines has railed against processed foods, vowed to remove fluoride from public water systems and suggested COVID was engineered to be ‘ethnically targeted.’
In a post on X, Kennedy vowed to work to end chronic disease, clean up corruption and provide Americans with the data they need to make informed decisions, vowing to Trump he would work to ‘Make America Healthy Again.’
‘I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),’ Trump posted on X.
DailyMail.com previously reported that Dr. Ben Carson – a respected surgeon turned 2016 presidential candidate – was in the mix, though Trump had also said he would let Kennedy ‘go wild’ on federal health agencies.
Kennedy had boosted Trump’s 2024 run by suspending his independent presidential campaign the day after the Democratic National Convention wrapped up in August – telling his supporters to back the Republican in key swing states.
Kennedy later embraced Trump even more – telling his supporters across the U.S. to back Trump instead – arguing they had a vision to ‘Make America Healthy Again.’
‘For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,’ Trump said.
The controversial pick comes just a day after Trump stunned Democrats and Republicans alike with his seemingly sudden choice of Matt Gaetz to be U.S. attorney general.
Gaetz, who resigned his seat as a Florida congressman hours after Wednesday’s announcement amid a roiling probe by the House Ethics Committee into allegations of 𝓈ℯ𝓍ual misconduct, illicit drug use and bribery.
He is a MAGA firebrand who has taken aim at fellow House members form both parties and led the coup against former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republican senators have publicly and privately expressed shock over the nomination.